Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge for January 22, 2025

January 22, 2025 By 1 Comment

Each Wednesday, Long and Short Reviews hosts a weekly “blog hop”. For more details on how to participate, please click here.

Book Quotes That Make Me Laugh

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1. George L Thomas  4. Ella English  
2. Lydia Schoch  5. M | RAIN CITY READS  
3. Aymee  6. Priscilla King  

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Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge for January 15, 2025

January 14, 2025 By 2 Comments

Each Wednesday, Long and Short Reviews hosts a weekly “blog hop”. For more details on how to participate, please click here.

Favorite Things to do in the Winter

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1. George L Thomas  6. Stephen @ Reading Freely  
2. Bob Mueller  7. M | RAIN CITY READS  
3. Tanith Davenport  8. Kate Hill  
4. Lydia Schoch  9. Priscilla King  
5. Aymee  

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Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge for January 8, 2025

January 8, 2025 By 1 Comment

Each Wednesday, Long and Short Reviews hosts a weekly “blog hop”. For more details on how to participate, please click here.

What I Think of AI (Artificial Intelligence)

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1. George L Thomas  4. M | RAIN CITY READS  
2. Lydia Schoch  5. Kate Hill  
3. Snapdragon Alcove  6. Priscilla King  

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Top Ten Tuesday: Most Anticipated Books Releasing in the First Half of 2025

January 7, 2025 By 57 Comments


Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

I enjoy the challenge of doing this annual post so soon after the winter TBR post. It encourages me to keep looking for books and try not to repeat any of them.

In lieu of adding a stock photo to this post, I’ll let the book covers speak for themselves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao 

Release Date: January 14

Why I’m Interested: Magical realism and cozy mysteries are two genres I’d like to read more of this year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. Three Wild Dogs by Markus Zusak

Release Date: January 25

Why I’m Interested: I love stories about rescue dogs finding good homes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Black in Blues: How a Color Tells the Story of My People by Imani Perry

Release Date: January 28

Why I’m Interested: This is a slice of history I knew nothing about.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4.Under the Same Stars  by Libba Bray

Release Date: February 4

Why I’m Interested: Multiple-timeline stories are so interesting!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5. The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar

Release Date: March 4

Why I’m Interested: March seems like a great month to read a novella about the dangers and joys of interacting with the Fae. This is a time of year where the weather swings rapidly where I live. It can be mildly warm and sunny in the morning only for a snowstorm or ice storm to hit in the afternoon, for example. Likewise, faeries can be just as unpredictable!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6. Malinalli by Veronica Chap

Release Date: April 11

Why I’m Interested: This is not a legend I was already aware of, so I’ll have to read it before checking out the retelling. I enjoy comparing originals to retelling.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7.  The Staircase in the Woods by Chuck Wendig

 Release Date: April 29

Why I’m Interested: One of my favorite newer urban legends is the one about staircases in the woods and the terrible things that will happen to you if you find one and climb it. Wendig is also one of those authors I try to read but then get too scared and DNF his work. Maybe this time I can actually make it to the end?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8. Old School Indian by Aaron John Curtis

Release Date: May 6

Why I’m Interested: It’s refreshing to read books about people finding healing at the end of their lives.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9. Forest Euphoria: The Abounding Queerness of Nature by Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian

Release Date: May 29

Why I’m Interested: I only know a little about this topic and would like to learn more.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10. Girl in the Creek by Wendy N. Wagner

Release Date: June 24

Why I’m Interested: Once again, I don’t know if this will be too scary for me, but I’d like to give it a try.

 

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Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge for January 1, 2025

January 1, 2025 By 6 Comments

Each Wednesday, Long and Short Reviews hosts a weekly “blog hop”. For more details on how to participate, please click here.

New Books I Want to Read This Month/Year

Thank you for joining our Weekly Wednesday Blogging Challenge! Please put the direct URL to your blog post here so other participants can visit your post. Thanks!
1. George L Thomas  5. Aymee  
2. Tanith Davenport  6. Kate Hill  
3. Lydia Schoch  7. M | RAIN CITY READS  
4. Laura Moseley  

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Top Ten Tuesday: Best Books I Read in 2024

December 31, 2024 By 64 Comments


Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl


Today’s topic is the best books I read in 2024, which can be both fun and exciting, and difficult as well.  I’m not a picky reader, so I tend to enjoy everything I read.  So, picking The Best can be rough.  But here we go!

In no particular order:

Starter Villain by John Scalzi.  Last year, I read Redshirts and fell in love with this author.  Starter Villain is ten times better (and more ridiculous).  So much better in audio, too, because Wil Wheaton is a treasure, and no one quite does incredulous like he does.

Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree.  I never knew I needed cozy fantasy in my life, but this is the perfect gateway, even for someone who might not like fantasy.  Bonsu: the author, a prolific audiobook narrator, reads his own book.

The Lies Among Us by Sarah Beth Durst.  This was one of the most unique and interesting books I’ve read in a very long time.  An addictive story that nearly breaks your heart at times.

Lucky Bounce by Cait Nary.  I’m a huge hockey fan, so a bit of hockey romance is necessary each year.  Zeke and Spencer are probably my second favorite hockey couple.

The Husbands by Holly Gramazio.  A very different sort of story involving alternating worlds and a ladder to an attic full of alternate husbands.

Silver Alert by Lee Smith.  I picked this up on a whim because you don’t find a lot of stories centered around senior citizens.  But this was a blast.  Herb, struggling to care for his aging wife, takes off on a road trip with the young woman hired to care for his wife.  Sweet, funny, and a little sad at times, it was a refreshing read.

A Sweet Sting of Salt by Rose Sutherland.  A blend of historical romance and fantasy, this really sucked me in from page one.  I don’t read a lot of lesbian fiction, but the love story contained within is epic in its own right.  Beautifully written, too.

Check Please! Book 1 by Ngozi Ukazu.  As I said above, I love hockey.  I also love manga and graphic novels, so when the two combine, I’m sold.  This was a super sweet story about a kid who loves to bake and his maybe boyfriend.  College romance done up in adorable graphics.

A Fellowship of Bakers & Magic by J. Penner.  Another cozy fantasy but this time add a dash of The Great British Bake Off.  Super cute and quick read.

She’s Not Sorry by Mary Kubica.  I love her books in general, but this has been my favorite to date.  Twisty and engrossing, I couldn’t stop reading until I knew the truth.

Have you read any of these?  What did you think, if you did?

 

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Top Ten Tuesday: Books on My Winter 2024-2025 To Read List

December 17, 2024 By 70 Comments


Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Winter is a time of year when I tend to get a lot of reading done due to how snowy and cold it can be outside.

Here are ten books coming out this winter that I’m looking forward to checking out. If no release date is included, that means that title is already available to buy or hopefully even borrow from your local library if you have one!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Cabin: Off the Grid Adventures with a Clueless Craftsman by Patrick Hutchinson

Why I’m Interested:  I’m too much of a city person to ever want to live off grid in the middle of nowhere, but I do enjoy reading about such things! (See also: that old fable about the city mouse and country mouse who take turns visiting each other and realize that not all mice like to live in the same sorts of places!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping  by Sangu Mandanna 

Release Date: December 24

Why I’m Interested: The plot sounds cozy and sweet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Heavenly Tyrant (Iron Widow, #2) by Xiran Jay Zhao

Release Date: December 24

Why I’m Interested: The first book in this series has been on my TBR list forever. Maybe the sequel coming out will convince me to finally read it?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4.  Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix

Release Date: January 14

Why I’m Interested: Mr. Hendrix writes such attention-grabbing books that I always keep an eye out for what he’s come up with next.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5 .Something Like Fate: A Novel by Amy Lea

Release Date: February 4

Why I’m Interested: This looks like a cute romance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6. Raised By Ghosts by Briana Loewinsohn

Release Date: February 4

Why I’m Interested: The blurb made it sound like a thoughtful graphic novel about dealing with loneliness.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7. Life Hacks for a Little Alien by Alice Franklin

Release Date: February 11

Why I’m Interested: The fabulous title. How could I not want to read something this playful?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8. Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales (Emily Wilde, #3) by Heather Fawcett

Release Date: February 11

Why I’m Interested: Just like with answer #3, this is a series I’ve been meaning to read for a while now and am hoping to find the time for soon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9. Three Days in June by Anne Tyler

Release Date: February 11

Why I’m Interested: We all go through hard times in life eventually. What interested me about this tale is how many different conflicts and difficulties the protagonist had to deal with at once. It’s difficult when that happens, but I have hope that she’ll get through all of them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10. I Got Abducted by Aliens and Now I’m Trapped in a Rom-Com (Cosmic Chaos, #1) by Kimberly Lemming (black

Release Date: February 18

Why I’m Interested: Cheeky, self-aware titles are the best, and this one looks like it will be great fun to read.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Musings Tagged With: ,

Top Ten Tuesday: Bookish Goals for 2025

December 14, 2024 By Leave a Comment


Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

For comparison’s sake, here were my Bookish goals for 2024. I achieved most of them as least partially.

This year I would like to:

1. Write more film reviews for Long and Short Reviews. I find it easier to read for 15 to 30 minutes here and there as I work on book reviews for them than I do to set aside 2 or 3 consecutive hours to watch a movie. Let’s see if I can change that this year.

2. Read more from the solarpunk genre. Like cozy mysteries, these are such soothing stories because I know everything will turn out okay in the end. Generally, they’re even pretty comforting in the middle of everything.

3. Whittle down my TBR list. This is a never-ending goal for me!

4. Use humor more often in my reviews. One of the things I think some of the other LASR reviewers – and even a lot of TTT reviewers whose blogs I have visited over the years – do really well is find playful ways to word things. My reviews are generally more serious in nature, but I’m wondering I can switch things up a little in certain cases.

5. Review more of the books I read, especially for indie authors. I know how important reviews are to them, but it can be hard to find the time to review everything or even to know what to say for certain books.

6. Avoid spilling tea again on my phone while reading an ebook. (Luckily, the tea had cooled down and it was only a few drops of it!)

7. Avoid spilling anymore crumbs on my phone while reading, too. Can you sense a theme developing in my life? 😉

8. Listen to audiobooks regularly. They are such a handy way to squeeze in more reading time.

9. Read more nonfiction. If you’ve read any great books in this genre, I’d sure like to hear about them.

10. Read more poetry.

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Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge for December 11, 2024

December 11, 2024 By 2 Comments

Each Wednesday, Long and Short Reviews hosts a weekly “blog hop”. For more details on how to participate, please click here.

NOTE: THIS IS THE FINAL WEDNESDAY WEEKLY BLOGGING CHALLENGE FOR 2024… BUT MAKE SURE YOU COME BACK FOR JANUARY 1, 2025 FOR NEXT YEAR’S TOPICS! We hope to see you all then.

Myths or Legends from Where I Live

Thank you for joining our Weekly Wednesday Blogging Challenge! Please put the direct URL to your blog post here so other participants can visit your post. Thanks!
1. George L Thomas  3. Stephen @ Reading Freely  
2. Lydia Schoch  4. Margaret G. Hanna  

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Top Ten Tuesday: Books to Read During a Storm

December 10, 2024 By 36 Comments


Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Yes, I am the same Astilbe who submitted this topic to Jana. I was thrilled to learn she picked it.

All of the books on this list feature blizzards and snowstorms. I don’t know about all of you, but I like reading about blizzards and snowstorms while they are happening so long as I’m tucked safely at home and don’t need to go anywhere until the roads are ploughed and okay for travelling on again.

1. The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

2.  The Cruelest Miles: The Heroic Story of Dogs and Men in a Race Against an Epidemic by Gay Salisbury

3. The Children’s Blizzard by David Laskin

4. Let It Snow by John Green

5. Winter Solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher

6. A Christmas Blizzard by Garrison Keillor

7. The Day After Tomorrow by Whitley Strieber

8. Ghost Story by Peter Straub

9.Chance of a Ghost (Haunted Guesthouse Mystery, #4) by E.J. Copperman

10.Who Stole Stonehenge? by Leela Cutter

 

Do you also like to read books about bad weather while the weather is snowy or stormy where you live?

 

 

 

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